Originality in the modern novel

As someone who has always been an avid reader, could never choose a single favourite book, and loves to try a bit of every genre, I find that, on the surface, the book market today seems oversaturated with books that look the same. These seem to use the same buzzwords and are always for “fans of” each other. Consequently, I have developed a real aversion to BookTube, Bookstagram, and BookTok, all of which I used to find useful tools for finding new reads. It seems every video is the same: shot with the same aesthetic, using similar language to attract viewers, more for video monetisation than a genuine love for books. The community feel has vanished from a lot of these platforms. Even long-time popular BookTubers, who have been making content since long before the rise of BookTok, appear to have fallen into the same trap. But is the modern-day novel really so lacking in originality, or is this perception manufactured by online algorithmic marketing? Is there really no longer the same scope of genres and creativity being made available to us, or is it all just disguised by social media giants dominating the production of the modern popular literary landscape?

Readers looking for easy recommendations on these platforms can often become trapped in echo chambers, which promote the same or similar texts and are difficult to escape without actively trying to do independent research

The Cambridge Dictionary defines “originality” as “the quality of being special and interesting and not the same as anything or anyone else.” The question then is: can anything be truly original? There is a huge difference between the use of tropes that are familiar to us and a novel being entirely derivative. There are tropes and archetypes that have been common to us across cultures for centuries, often stemming from mythologies and religious texts, such as the saviour archetype (religious figures), or the forbidden love trope, seen for example in Romeo and Juliet. On that note, Shakespeare, revered as one of the greatest playwrights ever, often borrowed from classical literature in his work. Romeo and Juliet is a retelling of Luigi da Porto’s story of Romeo and Giulietta, who are in opposing feuding families. Does this diminish Shakespeare’s talent as a playwright? Should we remove him from curricula on account of his lack of originality?

I feel a major problem with originality in the modern novel is to do with marketing. Algorithmic marketing via social media platforms such as TikTok and Instagram makes it difficult for both authors and readers to expand creatively. Readers looking for easy recommendations on these platforms can often become trapped in echo chambers, which promote the same or similar texts and are difficult to escape without actively trying to do independent research. Due to the nature of algorithmic marketing strategies, authors can also feel pressured to include popular tropes and to hyper-categorise their works to appeal to mass markets.

This can lead to them [authors] seeming to churn out books at an alarming rate, often relying on the same archetypes that have been successful in the past

The implications of a capitalist marketplace make writing an unstable career as it is, so appealing to mass audiences is the most financially viable way for authors to generate sustainable income. This can lead to them seeming to churn out books at an alarming rate, often relying on the same archetypes that have been successful in the past. Authors can then end up being hyper-categorised themselves as a certain type of writer, making it increasingly difficult for them to experiment with originality without losing loyal audience members, entirely reinventing their brand, and risking their financial stability.

Increasingly, writing has become a more accessible industry. It is no longer an upper-class luxury as it was in the past, and the literary field is slowly but surely becoming more diverse, with writers from minority groups having their works highlighted. Surely this widening scope of writers and their backgrounds could only result in a widening range of subject matter in the modern novel, and new ways of approaching literary self-expression.

The problem is that whilst platforms like KDP do make publishing original stories accessible, the exploitation of them for easy money or as a “side hustle,” saturates the market with predictable, trope-reliant stories

With the development of the Internet, traditional print publishing is also no longer the only route for writers to distribute their works. Self-publishing platforms such as Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) allow anyone to upload their manuscript (formatted using a ready-made template) and sell their book online. Schemes like this seem great at first – it must be a good thing that writing is becoming more accessible! But a quick TikTok search brings up thousands of videos on how to use Generative AI tools to make quick money on KDP. The problem is that whilst platforms like KDP do make publishing original stories accessible, the exploitation of them for easy money or as a “side hustle,” saturates the market with predictable, trope-reliant stories mostly written by AI, which by nature repurposes works it has already been taught.

I think that it is important not to dismiss the modern novel as unoriginal, despite this sometimes being difficult. We do not have fewer great writers than we did in the past, we just have more mediocre ones. The rise of the Internet can definitely be considered one of the major reasons the modern novel is looked down upon as derivative, and it is becoming certain that Generative AI technology poses a genuine threat to not only the success of our great writers, but our ability to be creative and original as a species. Original novels are still out there, just hidden under a heap of works that have been quick to recycle and repackage their ideas to profit off their talent. To find original books in the modern-day online mass market, you must be willing to put the work in and look.